Information About What to Expect for Each Type of Appointment
Breastfeeding Appointments
Your initial appointment will take one hour. We will thoroughly address any concern you have about breastfeeding. We are skilled in helping mothers with the full range of breastfeeding problems including pain, nipple damage, mastitis, blocked ducts, fussing at the breast, breast refusal, low supply, oversupply and functional lactose overload, feeding twins, mixed feeding and pumping. We will observe a feed, so please bring anything you need to support you with this, as well as your baby’s blue book. Additional appointments of 30-60 minutes duration may be required to meet your goals.
Unsettled Infants
These appointments are one hour, and take a very holistic picture of the mother-baby pair. We will address any feeding issues (breast or bottle), weigh and examine your baby to assess for any medical conditions, and offer ideas for managing the days and nights. The well-being and support of the parents are pivotal during these consults. Our broad skill set allows us to manage not just the unsettled infant, but the caregiver too. Please bring the baby’s blue book and anything you need to feed your baby.
Infant Sleep Support
These appointments are for one hour and both a parent and the baby or child need to attend. We offer infant sleep support that is honouring the baby’s biological sleep regulators and embraces cued care. Our sleep education is based in the principles of NDC (Neuroprotective Developmental Care), pioneered by Dr Pamela Douglas.
Pregnancy Appointments
Your initial appointment will be for 30-45 minutes. We will confirm your pregnancy, take a thorough history, examination and explain all your pregnancy care options. There are many tests that can be done early in pregnancy, and we will explain these in detail.
If you have already had some tests or ultrasounds, please bring copies of these along with you, or inform our receptionists where you have had these done and we can arrange a download before your appointment. Likewise, if you have an orange pregnancy record, please bring that too.
Any subsequent appointments will be 15-30 minutes in duration.
Contraception Appointments
Appointments to discuss your contraception needs can be done in 15-30 mins.
IUD and Implanon insertion and removals require a 30 minute appointment. A pre-insertion appointment will be needed prior to the day of actual insertion. The Practice Nurse will also be required to help.
Mental Health Consults
Depending on the complexity of the situation, 30-60 mins is best for an initial consult, especially if it is related to postnatal anxiety or depression. Usually the issues are multi-factorial and having a longer appointment allows us to evaluate both mother and baby issues.
Preparation of a GP Mental Health Care Plan needs 30 mins. In general, this is not possible to do at the first consult as we need to conduct a thorough assessment first.
We all have training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and are able to offer counselling services ourselves.
Women’s Health Appointments
We are able to manage the vast array of women’s health issues including: problematic periods (heavy, painful, irregular); contraception; pre-conception advice and education on optimising chances of pregnancy; infertility work-up; cervical screening; sexual health and menopause management. We are also GP’s and so can manage the vast array of medical issues that women may face.
Depending on how many problems you wish to discuss, appointment length will vary between 15-45 minutes. Please book the appropriate length appointment to get your issues addressed.
General Appointments
We are also GPs! Although we love helping mothers and babies thrive, we are happy to see anyone to address their medical problems. Depending on the number of issues to be discussed, please book the appropriate length appointment. 15 minutes is usually only long enough to address one concern.
Childhood Immunisations
We are able to offer childhood immunisations. These appointments will also include a thorough examination including weighing and measuring your baby; a developmental check; and answering any concerns you have. These are done in a 30 minute appointment time and are not bulk-billed. Please bring your child’s blue book with you.
Medical Terminations of Pregnancy
Up to 3 appointments may be required to ensure this is a safe process. An ultrasound and blood tests will be required prior to commencing the process, as well as a follow up blood test 6 days later. Initial appointment is 45-60 mins long, and subsequent appointments 15-30 mins long. The first appointment has a gap applied but the follow up appointments are bulk-billed if you hold a Medicare card.
Additional Information
Contact and Communication
If you would like to speak with a nurse or doctor, please inform the admin team of the urgency of your concern. If they are unavailable at the time, the admin will take your contact details and a message, and either the nurse or doctor will return your call as soon as possible. Please be aware that some concerns may require a telehealth or in clinic appointment, fees will apply. We answer phone calls during business hours. If the line is busy, please remain on hold if your call is not a medical emergency (if it is, hang up and call 000). You can opt out to the voicemail system at any time or leave a voice message after 15 minutes. Voice messages can be left outside if clinic hours and our admin will return your call as soon as possible the next consulting day.
Email communication
It is our clinic policy that appointment bookings, rescheduling, cancellations or any amendments cannot be made by email. Patients are kindly requested to use our online booking system or contact the clinic directly by phone for these requests.
Results
Results are reviewed by your doctor who will either leave a comment, send a secure SMS to you through our clinical software or have a nurse contact you to book an appointment. Please call the admin team 3-5 days after your test was performed to check your results, unless the doctor has instructed otherwise. The admin team can only relay the limited information provided by the doctor. If you wish to discuss your results in detail, please book a follow up appointment by telehealth or in clinic . A copy of your results can be available electronically through MyHealth record. Pathology results will be uploaded to your MyHealth record after 7 days.
Recalls
Clinical recalls and reminders are sent by SMS through HotDocs. This communication is protected by an identification process which will require you to provide some details to identify yourself or your child. This communication may be sent over a number of HotDocs messages followed by a phone call or email from one of our staff. If we are still unable to contact you or you have not made an appointment, a letter will be sent by post
Appointment Reminder system
Appointment reminders are sent 48 hours in advance, The clinic has a strict 24 hour cancellation and did not attend policy. With reminders being sent 48 hours prior, this allows you up to 24 hours to cancel or reschedule an appointment before any fees apply. These appointment reminders are sent by HotDocs. You can cancel an appointment through HotDocs up to 24 hrs prior to your appointment time, under 24 hours you will need to call the clinic to cancel or reschedule. Late cancellation and did not attend fees apply.
Appointment delays
At times your doctor may experience delays due to various unforeseen circumstances, such as medical emergencies, urgent patient care needs, hospital calls or technical issues. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during these times. Our admin team works diligently to notify patients whenever the doctor is running more than 15 minutes behind and will continue to keep you informed with any updates.
Scripts and referrals
Scrips and referral can be requested during a consultation. If you are an existing patient a script or referral (referral letter, radiology or pathology), can be requested without an appointment through Hotdocs quick consults request. These requests will be subject to a private non relatable fee of $40, which is payable at the time of the request. If the request is not appropriate and requires an appointment your doctor will reject the request and a full refund will be immediately issued which will take up to 7 days to be returned to your account and you will be notified an appointment is required.
Health information, confidentially and privacy
Your medical records are confidential. Its the clinic policy to maintain security of personal health information at all times and is only available to authorised member’s of staff. Please review our privacy policy page for more details.
